Three gone, One remembered
by Nerielle Tu
Summary: Minako Arisato only had one year to save everyone. And only one year to be loved. Shinji/Minako Ryoji/Minako Theo/Minako Lemony Material and involves all three.
1. Shinjiro

Minako hadn't realized it then. She hadn't realized exactly who she was yet.

All she knew then was what she wanted.

Which was why she was staring her gumpy senpai in the face with puffy cheeks and the determination of Mitsuru in an exam. "I won't leave!" she said with the utmost determination. And with that he had pulled her close and told her all the things she wanted to hear.

Every last word.

And then he said he wouldn't hold back anymore, and he didn't. But even if he was determined, he was tender all the same. He was tender as he unbuttoned her shirt and unhooked her bra. Even his look was tender as he examined all of her, her slender body so soft in his eyes. And he kissed her and lovingly shed her of her underwear and she knew then without a word that he really did love her too.

'But I'll never hear you say it will I senpai?' the thought came to her mind suddenly. She got chills. Why would she think that? He had been reaching for something in his wallet, trying to be safe she supposed, but she put her hand on his arm. "You don't need to," she said gently. He looked at her questioningly. "You sure? You know all that shit they say in magazines and comics is wrong right? There's no such thing as a safe day..." he seemed extremely skeptical of her.

"I know," she said as she smiled.

He was so tender with her. And it didn't hurt too badly, she guessed from all the Tartarus trips and flexibility she'd gained from them. But it did still hurt, and when he touched her face to reassure her she saw a gentleness in him she loved so deeply. "Don't hold back, senpai!" she reminded him teasingly. Her newly opened orifice quivered as he took her. He held her legs farther apart and she let him. Was this what it was like to be loved? To be filled completely.

"Minako..." he moaned out her name as his pace increased. "Shinjiro..." she whispered back to him as she tried to rock her hips with his. It started to feel nice, but seeing him enjoying it was the best part. "Do I make you feel good?" she whispered huskily. "God...yes..." he said with a glossed over look in his eyes.

Later he held her close and his look was tender then too. It was like the first time any girl would want. But why had she told him not to bother? Why did it make her feel sad to see his tenderness? She began to drift to sleep as she felt Shinjiro's come between her legs. She was satisfied.

It would only be until later that she realized the reason she did not fear a life growing inside of her was because all she could possibly hold within herself was death.


	2. Ryoji

When Shinjiro looked at her and told her not to cry she felt empty. How had she figured it out that she would never hear him say those words? Losing him had been such a great loss. For a time she went to the hospital and visited him frequently. But as November came she felt she could no longer do it. He didn't have that tender look anymore. He'd left her, never warned her, and if only he had...

And that was when Ryoji came.

From the moment she met him, she knew him. His sweet voice and his eyes were so familiar, and she loved him at once for reasons she could hardly explain. When she wanted to put the words into reality, he did it for you.

'Have I met you before?'

She didn't want to leave Shinji. But he had left her. And then she didn't want to love anyone else, but Ryoji seemed so familiar. His flirtatious nature seemed different with her. When he touched her hand it was sweet and warm. It was everything and nothing. It was right.

"Minako..."

She touched him as he asked. He wanted to feel real, but so did she. She wanted to believe that the sinking feeling in her chest was wrong. And when he unbuttoned her shirt and pulled up her skirt and looked her in the eye, it wasn't a tender look. It was a fulfilling one. "Ryoji.." she said with a forlorn smile. "Minako..." he said again, his voice just as sad as hers.

He gripped her hand, and took her. His arms enveloped her, and every desire she'd ever had he met. Being with him was like being complete, and being totally fulfilled. He hadn't asked like Shinji had. He knew. Somehow, just like she did. Death was all around her. And when Ryoji was there, that was alright. She called out his name and let him take her every way he wanted, because it was always what she wanted.

He knew her inside and out. And when she looked into his eyes she felt the love tingling throughout her entire body. He wanted to stay with her too. And when he came he did it inside of her, with no reluctance or care. He touched her face. "Sorry," he said sweetly with the same sadness there. "I didn't want to leave." She touched his face as well, and they again felt complete.

"I didn't want you to either."

And for a time the boy who had been death had been able to be with her, and become part of her once again.


	3. Theo

He had been death all along. Her doom, the end of her. It had only been fitting that she would feel complete when he was in her. He had been inside of her for so long, afterall.

Minako knew then.

Somehow deep within her, she knew what awaited her. She had told Ryoji as much.

"I'll stay. I can save everyone...except...I think I'll be joining you soon Ryoji. So don't be so sad."

It clashed, the ring and the watch. So she wore them on seperate hands. One was a love she wasn't destined the keep, and the other was a love destined to crush her life. It was so wonderfully fitting. Minako had made so many friends, but now she could not love again. She tried not to.

She couldn't love Bebe.

She couldn't love Hidetoshi.

She couldn't love Akihiko.

And yet somehow he'd made his way into her heart.

He was so peculiar. So odd. But so funny! And he always depended on her. He was the only one out of all of them who could understand the burden. Shinji made her human. Ryoji made her realize her fate and accept it. And Theo had made her remember that she was not alone. And so she took him places like he asked, and she fulfilled his request.

And then one day he realized he'd have to stop. And he told her as much. And her heart ached again, because she'd lose yet another person. She was tired of everyone going. "I don't want this to end!"

And so he'd removed his gloves. His touch was like fire. He was so much older than she was, she knew, he even looked it. Like he was her teacher, but she had been his. Until the moment when he'd undressed her and spread her legs, and then she was learning. His tongue had traced every corner of her pussy and she had never experienced such a thing. She had never been taught.

He made her scream. His look was so intense, like someone who was desperate. He wanted her. So badly. Was it love? She didn't know. She didn't think he knew what love was. That was one of the things he couldn't understand. He took her from behind, and he took her against her floor, and he made her body sticky with pleasure. "Master Minako?" he asked as he moved her body against him and caressed the delicate skin of her nipples. "Yes?" she asked weakly. He whispered into her ear. "Don't give out so soon. You still have much to learn."

And when he was done her knee high socks were still on, and her body was heaving. "I will never forget this," he said as his thank you. She gazed at him from afar. "Never.." His come too, spilled out of her, and they lay in euphoria for awhile longer.

She waved him off after he gave his thanks to her and then she returned to her room. Minako smiled, grateful that if her life was to end soon at least she got to have three great loves within it.


	4. Minako

Her funeral was beautiful.

Yukari, Fuuka, and Mitsuru all saw to it. How could they let their friend down? And more than a few people cried. Hidetoshi had approached her in the casket, a western approach that seemed so fitting for someone who had touched so many, and hung his head in shame. He hadn't been able to save her, because he'd been worried about being the right kind of man.

Akihiko was comforting to Shinji, but he was in his own world, one where Minako did not drift to sleep forever in his arms. One where he'd never gone away in the first place.

Theo stood aside his two sisters and remained silent. They looked at him. "You're sure?" Elizabeth remarked. Theo nodded.

"More than anything."

And so Theo left, meeting the somber android outside the Velvet Room.

"We...must save her," Aigis commented sadly. Theo nodded. "We must."

And somewhere, far off, Minako Arisato's soul was sealed in stone with a smile. For she above all, was grateful to have lived.

'How cruel,' a familiar voice mused to ears that could not hear. 'You're so close to me, but you can't speak to me.'

And three people felt agony in turn for the girl who had loved them, and then left them even moreso than they'd left her.


End file.
